PJC students garner awards at speech tournament

Published or Revised April 21, 2005

Paris Junior College received awards at this year's 2005 Phi Ro Pi National Speech and Theatre Tournament held recently in Philadelphia, Penn. PJC student Anna-Marie Hearn won a third-place bronze award in National Prose Interpretation competition. She was one of more than 150 students from 80 two-year colleges that were entered in the event. A total of 496 students and 116 coaches and judges attended the week-long competition. "It's a long week of over 12-hour days for the first three days of pre-elimination rounds, and then two more days of semis and finals," said instructor John Wright, who accompanied the students to the contest. Two PJC students qualified for the tournament. Each of them entered four individual events. The other student, Dustin Cordoba, entered Duo Interpretation with Ms. Hearn. He also competed in Poetry Interpretation, Dramatic Interpretation and Speech to Entertain, but did not break into the semi-finals. Ms. Hearn also entered Speech to Entertain, Duo and Dramatic Interpretation. Instructors and coach Ms. Ann Glover joined Wright in accompanying the two students to the contest. After 26 years of national coaching in Speech and Theatre Forensic events, Wright was honored with an award of appreciation from the students and coaches of the Texas Region Six of Phi Rho Pi. The 2005 National Collie-Taylor Fellowship Award for Coaches was also presented to Wright after a vote from all the students at the National Tournament. Earlier in the year, the Texas Community College Speech and Theatre Association honored Wright for his 32 years of coaching within the state of Texas. He has also been previously honored the 1993 Teacher of the Year for the Texas Educational Theatre Association and by the Phi Rho Phi National Forensics Organization with the 2001 National Service Award for Coaches.